That linguistic variety shows how diverse were the aboriginal cultures. Even though it is possible to generalize broadly about cultural resemblances or patterns, the actual cultural unit was local or regional. This is true despite the existence of larger political units, such as the K’iche’ of classical Guatemala, or the Aztec empire. The broad characteristics of the Indians of Middle America may nevertheless be sketched in profile, with the caveat that the profile is everywhere varied by local circumstance. When the Spaniards conquered the aboriginal peoples, they removed the indigenous ruling class and placed themselves at the apex of society. They also brought Roman Catholicism, horses, cattle, wheels, iron, and new forms of political and economic organization. The Indian culture of today is a blend of indigenous elements, the culture of the Spanish, and the historical precipitate of the centuries since the conquest.

Middle American cultures exist in located, named communities, each of which has a physical centre housing the patron saint of the community. The basis of subsistence is maize (corn), cultivated in small plots, but there is a myriad of crafts and artisans, and communities tend to be economically specialized. The family is the basic social unit, each living in a separate structure. Males and females wear distinctive clothing; where they have adopted modern dress, it is chiefly among the men rather than the women. Men do the heavy agricultural tasks and women the domestic chores. Men are in charge of the indigenous cults, while women are more prominent in the Roman Catholic aspects of religion. There is little restriction on any economic activity, and no taboos hedge occupational choice, but modern economic organization is little developed. The marketplace is the focus of economic life.

Families are internally hierarchical, with males and elders dominating. Both the father’s and the mother’s kin are recognized in tracing relatives, but there is a patrilineal emphasis in the transmitting of names and of some real property. Marriages are arranged for sons and daughters by their elders, who negotiate among themselves through a series of fixed visits and gift exchanges. Often the groom must perform service for his in-laws; during this period he may reside with them, later to set up his own abode. Marriages are easily dissolved in the absence of children, and a man may have a succession of wives; when children arrive, however, they stabilize a marriage.

The community’s political organization is housed in a central building, usually opening upon a plaza. The personnel of the political organization form a hierarchy, with its top members recognized as spokesmen or representatives of the Indian community by the national government. The political offices are closely interwoven with a similar hierarchy, whose personnel serve the local church and the religious brotherhoods (cofradías), and plan the annual festal cycle. The personnel of the two hierarchies tend to alternate their periods of service between the civil and the religious wings. All adult men serve in this civil–religious hierarchy; in small communities they eventually reach the top posts and retire to become respected elders (principales). The annual change of personnel is accompanied by ritual.

There are no social classes in the Indian communities, but there are considerable differences in prestige, wealth, and individual achievement. There is an age hierarchy, especially among males, largely based on previous public service in the civil–religious hierarchy.

In the life cycle of these people, the important events are baptism and marriage. There are no puberty rites. Death is accepted matter-of-factly, followed by a Catholic wake. The concepts of sickness and disease are various. Illness is often thought to be caused by invasions of wind (aires) into the body or by disturbed emotional states, or it is thought to be most likely to strike during certain periods. Foods and natural substances are thought to be hot and cold, strong and weak; those conceptions are used both in diagnosis and in curing. Those who cure are specialists or semi-specialists, frequently believed to perform witchcraft or other noxious magic.

In the realm of the sacred there are a large number of supernatural beings and places. The deities are arranged in a vague hierarchy, sometimes with the Christian God at the apex. Christian saints are the chief focus of worship, but with them are associated various pagan attributes and forces, including the natural forces of wind, rain, and lightning. Some saints have strong cults, their effigies being housed in a cult house or special temple and cared for on a daily basis. Liquor is consumed during sacred ceremonies and in that context is itself sacred.

The annual cycle is regulated by the European calendar. There is a series of religiously derived festivals, the chief of which are All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day, Easter Week, and the Day of the Cross (in September). At least 82 different Indian communities still use the old pre-Conquest calendars in some agricultural rituals and for purposes of divination.

The worldview is animistic in the sense that the Indians see the world as peopled by spirits, souls, ghosts, and witches capable of inflicting harm if the proper ritual precautions are not taken. Omens, dreams, and talismans are of great importance. People are also believed to transform themselves into animals and mystically eat the life from a victim. Some communities execute witches. In religious practice, ritual conformity is more important than inner piety; if a person does not hold a ritual office, he engages in very little daily religious activity.

Slander, gossip, and envy are strongly condemned, although they are an important means of influencing social behaviour. In general, however, the rule of law, as expressed in the formal organization of the civil–religious hierarchy, is much more important than personal leadership. Great ambition is discouraged, but industry and diligence are much lauded.

This generalized profile of Middle American cultures fits most closely the areas of the former high cultures—the Aztec, Maya, Zapotec, Tarascan, and Mixtec areas. It needs modification for the northwest culture area, where the communities have less economic specialization and interdependence. It also does not fit some coastal Indians who have become part of the export economy, such as the vanilla-growing Totonac of Veracruz, or the Indians who worked on the sisal plantations of Yucatán, where many approached the status of a rural proletariat.